Mohd Nor Shahid S2

Choosing a secondary school was really hard for me because I was afraid of making the choice to be a part of a school I was not interested in. My cousin, who was also from Juying Secondary School (JYSS), is an alumni from the 2014 cohort. She inspired me to come to this school when she shared her experiences at JYSS with me. She told me that, to her, this school was fun to be a part of, and she also reminded me that there would be times we need to buckle down to get serious about our studies. She also mentioned that this school has good teachers who are kind and the environment is generally safe. Considering all she has shared with me, I put my first choice as Juying Secondary School. I was pretty happy about it and having been here for a little more than year now, all the things that my cousin had shared with mehave turned out to be true.

My best experiences come from keeping an open mind when meeting new people- understanding their backgrounds and not being judgmental. With my form class, 2T1, I really enjoy bonding with all my classmates and I am constantly amazed by how talented and smart my friends are. I also have nice teachers who really care about us and understand our efforts.

The most enjoyable subject for me is Food and Consumer Education (FCE) (because I get to learn how to cook healthier food and I feel proud that I am capable of doing something that I could not do before.

I also felt accomplished when I got the opportunity to do SBB Mathematics, which is Mathematics at the Normal Academic (NA) level, because I had gotten an A for NT Math. Another fond memory I have is being with all my classmates and having the chance to make Chinese New Year hampers with them.

In our school, we have the opportunity to participate in various PASSION modules. When I was in secondary one, I participated in the ‘Outreach’ PASSION module. This module helped me to understand different people’s profiles and learn what it means to have empathy. It also helped me to think outside the box about people who have been left behind in society, for example, those with special needs and the poor. It made me feel so sad for those who have been marginalized by society. At times, I felt angry because people who really needed help have either been turned away or looked down on.

When I was in secondary one, as part of the orientation camp, we were split into different groups and each of us came from different classes. I was really shy because I was scared that people would judge me. I was glad to discover that I was wrong. All of them were kind to me and respected me and our differences.

I was assigned to be the Vice-chairperson of 1T1. This made me happy, but I did not anticipate how heavy the responsibilities would be and how many challenges I had to face. Some of my classmates disliked me at first, but after getting to know me, they respected me. I felt that being entrusted with this role changed my life because it motivated me to improve in my academics and my attendance. I was given awards for the school’s RIGHT values.

Now, in secondary two, I am happy to report that I have been elected to be the class Chairperson and most of my classmates nominated me because they believe that I have the potential to lead the whole class and they trust me. I have also managed to achieve full attendance for Term 1.

My favourite teachers in school are Mr Clive Aw, Ms Hema Veeremohan, Mrs Sophia Ang and Mr Chung Zhiwen. They are my favourite teachers because all of them believe in me and can see my potential. This is especially true for Mr Aw because he is the one who encourages me to come to school regularly. I used to have really bad attendance and he encouraged me to come to school even if I am late and he believes that I can do it. Now, I manage to attend school everyday by taking in his advice. I really appreciate all the teachers who have been patient and kind to me.

Lastly, I would like to share about my co-curricular activity (CCA). During CCA tryouts, I was thinking of trying out for Cultural Dance because back in primary school, I was in Malay Dance. Unfortunately, the Cultural Dance CCA turned out to be open to females only. As such, to give myself the chance to try something new, I decided to attend the National Civil Defence Cadet Corps (NCDCC) tryouts. The NCDCC Cadets were explaining to us about the CCA and that was what made me so interested in saving people and putting out fires, to name some examples of what they do. In my CCA, I really enjoy learning to tie different knots, facilitating cardiopulmonary resuscitation, building tents, and looking smart in our uniforms.

To conclude, I recommend students to join this school because this school has helped me to discover so many different things about myself that I never knew before - and so much more to come as I embark on my Secondary 2 journey and beyond!